:D For you Sarah! And Alyssa too ^^ the one I mentioned long long long long time ago before promos! Just finished wheee~

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"Pick up the pace, Shane!"

Seth grinned up at him and urged him to hurry up before he walked on ahead—always ahead—and left him behind.

He had known him since high school.

He was one of those people that you just couldn't hate. He was slow, highly dense and socially awkward, but somehow his rather innocent personality had charmed everyone into becoming his friend.

It was no wonder he fell for him fast and hard.

People always said love was complicated, difficult, troublesome. It required time and patience, hurt and heartache, and more effort than anything else—

He watched as he turned around and half-jogged toward him and when he was a meter away, he teased, "For a guy who has really long legs, you sure walk slow!"

He frowned but he threw her arms around his neck and gave him a short hug. It was natural and sweet and the affectionate gesture took him by surprise. "Pick it up, Shane!”

—People always said love was complicated, but falling him was the easiest thing he'd ever done.

-;-

The ball room was large, but it seemed small due to the number of bodies taking up the floor. The annual med student graduate dinner was tonight and Shane wished he didn't have to attend. Four years of medical school deserved some celebration, Seth told him patiently, but he didn't understand why he had to celebrate with eighty other people he didn't know when all he wanted to do was celebrate with him.

Where was he?

"Congratulations, Mr Shane. Dr. Val has many good things to say about your future," the well-dressed, aristocratic figure before him was still speaking. "As the top student in your graduating class, we expect great success, but I have no doubts you'll make a great asset to whichever hospital you choose."

"Thank you, sir."

His eyes scanned the room inconspicuously as he took a sip of the champagne glass he was given the second he entered the room. He couldn't see him anywhere. It didn't help that he was so short that he practically disappeared in this crowd.

"Are you looking for someone?" The familiar voice broke through his search and he turned to see Sera. "Congratulations, fellow graduate, though I have yet to understand how you managed to beat me."

He exhaled sharply. "Sera, stop."

"I'm just stating a fact," she put up her free hand in surrender. "I know you're not even trying." She smiled up at him in a friendly way before she too eyed the crowd. "Can I tell you that your sex appeal just upped another ten notches because you're smart as hell and you're going to be a doctor?"

"Sera—"

She laughed good-naturedly. "Okay, okay! That was the last time." She paused for a beat. "For today." He scowled at her and continued to look for Seth, but Sera put her hand on his arm. "Looking for Seth?" At his nod, she pointed to the corner where he could just make out the familiar figure. "I think he might need you. Those look like your first line fans."

He didn't need to hear anymore.

He was already halfway across the room.

It didn't take long to hear the conversation. It was two against one and Shane hardly thought that was fair. Christine was a fellow graduate and though she was hard-working and smart, she was completely pushy and selfish. They weren't the most admirable traits in a future doctor. She thought she was the cream of the crop and when she was going after Seth like this, Shane thought it was about time he made it clear where she stood.

"You don't deserve him," Christine hissed coldly.

Shane paused in his steps, knowing Seth was fully capable of defending himself, anxious to hear his response.

He didn't disappoint.

Never would.

"I may not deserve him," Seth replied simply, his voice firm, "—but until he doesn't want me anymore, I'm going to hold on to him as tight as I can. Until he doesn't want me anymore, I'll be there. For now, please don't approach me like this again. I won't leave him."

"You're being selfish!"

Shane felt a ball of fire ignite in his veins at the clear hatred in her voice.

Seth doesn't deserve that.

There was an incredulous pause before Seth laughed with disbelief. "Yes," he said softly, "—I am. I think love makes a lot of people selfish, but I won't apologize for wanting to spend as long as I can with my most important person. You've made it quite clear that you're smarter than me, so I hope you can understand that."

"You're so…you can't just—"

He stepped out from behind the wall and watched as the colour drained from Christine and some girl he didn't recognize. "Ladies," he said coolly, watching as they shuffled in their evening dresses. "I see you've met my boyfriend."

Christine raised her chin in defiance. "He doesn't deserve you," she said unabashedly. "—He’s a guy! How you can even stand the idea of being together with him beats me. Open your eyes, Shane. Can't you see he's just not worth your tim—"

The fire in his veins burst from within him.

"You don't know a damn thing about him and our relationship," his voice was icy with barely concealed ire. "Before you let your irrational jealously overcome you, know your facts before you jump into a fight. You've met him for five seconds and you've already condemned him for being something he isn't, but I've known you for three years. You can bet this isn't some badly constructed first impression. You're shallow enough to think everybody will like you for your looks. You're pushy enough to think you can force your feelings on somebody else. Look in a mirror, Christine. You're the one forcing yourself between Seth and me; you're the one putting your interests in me above our interests and you're the one throwing a tantrum because you're not used to being denied what you want."

Seth was holding his hand extra tight and Christine looked like the blood was being drained out of her body.

Shane tried to reign in the excess anger he felt and waited two beats for some much needed calm. "You'll be a good doctor," he said evenly, watching as black eyes met his. "But if you put aside your selfish tendencies, you could become a brilliant one."

She bowed her head before her friend led her away.

He could feel rather than hear Seth exhale shakily. "Well that was interesting," he said lightly.

He squeezed the hand still in his. "You're far too nice to them. I'm surprised you didn't tear her ear out with your loud voice."

Seth sent him a dry look before leading him out to the open balcony. "Normally I would," he started honestly, letting go of his hand, "But this is your big night and I really didn't want to embarrass you in front of your professors, friends and doctors. I know I'm not as smart as you, but hanging out here makes me feel so small. You're—" he breathed out slowly and leaned his elbows against the balcony railing, looking out at the dark night sky, "—you're definitely not from my world."

"I may not be from your world, but I like being in it."

"You're far too cute, you know that?" Seth said wryly, the grin apparent in his voice.

He turned to protest the feminine adjective but his warm lips pressed against his to stem the words and he couldn't complain. It was sweet, slow and too short. A throat cleared in amusement and he heard Seth's squeak before he turned and saw Sera standing by the balcony doors.

"It's one night," Sera admonished laughingly, "Keep your hands off him long enough to let us catch up, will you, Shane?" She moved in to put her hands around Seth's shoulders in a hug. "It's been a long time."

They made small talk. Shane wasn't very interested.

He watched as Sera left with a wave before Seth stepped toward him. He straightened up from the railing and watched him lift his arms languidly and hook his hands around his neck.

The dinner bell rang out, shrill and clear, to call everybody to the dining room. He sighed and ran a hand through his hair at the thought of having to sit through an hour long dinner. No doubt many would have questions for the top-med student and he wasn't one to make conversation. The thought made his appetite die and his mood plummet to his feet.

Seth dropped his left hand and squeezed his right.

It was two days later that he would see the bruise in the shape of a hand on his wrist.

-;-

As a top graduate med student, Shane was in high demand and it wasn't long until he realized he didn't have a lot of time for the other things he loved. When he wasn't working, he was looking into different techniques for an upcoming surgery or reading up some more about the heart. If he wasn't working or doing research, he was catching up on much-needed sleep. If he wasn't catching up on much-needed sleep, he was eating or showering. When he wasn't doing either of those things, he was hanging out with Seth or his friends.

The latter didn't happen nearly as much as he would like.

After four months of hospital work without seeing so much as a hair of Sera and Jay, Shane heard Erika decided to hold a barbecue at her place and invited the whole gang along. Shane wouldn't have been interested if Seth wasn't going, but he was just about to jump out of his skin in excitement and whatever made him happy, made him happy.

It was as simple as that.

When they arrived at Erika’s place, it was already packed with people.

Dr Val was a permanent addition to the kitchen.

Jay was flipping burgers on the outdoor grill.

Henry was starting a big fire and Bryan was setting up chairs around it.

Seth squeezed his hand when he saw Sera eating with Erika. Having moved into his apartment, he supposed Seth didn't see Sera as much as he would like. He gave him a quick kiss on the cheek before he bounded over toward his best friend and Shane made his way over to Silvanus.

It wasn't long until he strolled back to her.

"Shane" Erika said darkly, ignoring Seth's mutterings of don't tell him! Shane merely sent her a questioning glance before the girl grabbed Seth's arm and pushed his long sleeves up. His arm was pale, as it usually was, but it was decorated in new and old bruises. Shane's eyes widened with incredulity.

"Where did you get those?" Shane hissed firmly, grabbing his wrist gently and surveying the expanse of skin. Some were turning green with age and others were still purple with life. His eyes flashed up to meet his and his tone left no room for evasion. "Who touched you? Who gave you these?"

Seth tugged his arm away before he bit his lip. "I don't think anybody did this to me!" he said quickly, looking around, "I don't remember. I think it might have been me. You know how clumsy I am! I just bruise really easily!"

How could he have missed this?

The raw guilt in his blood made his voice scathing, "How long have you had these? When were you planning on telling me? Why am I only learning about this now?"

"I didn't want you to worry."

The guilt made him feel raw. "How long?"

He gulped audibly. "I don't know. A while. They're just bruises," he said lightly, tugging his sleeve down. "They'll go away in a few days!"

A thought hit him suddenly that made his blood go cold.

His eyes flashed to Erika’s and she rolled her eyes as if to say, about time!

He swallowed thickly. "Tomorrow, you're coming with me to the hospital."

-;-

He was working the day Seth's results came in.

Seth called him earlier to say he was coming in to talk to the doctor and he promised to drop by as soon as he was done his shift. He had the worst feeling and terrible thoughts plagued him for the majority of his shift. When he finally managed to track down Seth's room, he entered in time to see his eyes were red-rimmed and his feet were dangling from the hospital bed.

"Hey," he said softly from the doorway.

He looked up at him from under his eyelashes and lifted his arms up like a child asking for a much-needed hug.

He would have resisted if he didn't catch the slight tremor in his lips. He knelt down in front of him, lifted him in his arms and sat down with him cuddled against his chest. There was a dark, foreboding lump in his throat and when he looked up at him with watery brown eyes, he knew.

They were silent for a long time.

He couldn't speak. You knew her family had a history of cancer!

"You'll…you'll still like me when my hair's gone, won't you?"

Of course, he closed his eyes. I like you much more than I like your hair, you stupid guy.

But he couldn't say that, couldn't say a word. He hummed against his hair and held him a little tighter and thought vaguely, I hope he doesn't bruise.

And some voice at the back of Shane's mind said darkly, soon you'll be buying flowers for him too.

-;-

Seth had two years.

He said it casually like he wasn't talking about the length of his life and it made Shane want to twist somebody's arm off. Couldn't he drop the act for one second? Couldn't he see he was being torn apart?

What could he possibly do without him?

"I'll beat it," he said confidently, twisting the noodles around his chopsticks. "I'm a fighter, Shane. You know that. I'm not going to let something as small as this get to me. You'll see." When he didn't speak, he sent him a dry look. "How else are you going to rule the world if you don't have me at your side, huh? Us against the world, remember? I'll be damned if you take my world domination plans and leave me out of it."

He snorted softly and picked up a piece of chicken and deposited it on his plate.

"Hey! I can get my own food!" he squawked.

Shane sent him a dark look. "Eat up. You're getting too skinny."

"Please, Shane. Don't treat me any differently. I'm still here, aren't I?"

His heart softened and he gave him a resigned nod. "When are you going to tell Sera and them?"

He winced at the thought. "Sometime after Bryan’s birthday party. I don't want to ruin it, but I guess the sooner they know the better, right?"

Shane looked at him carefully. "I'll come with you."

"You will? Really?"

Shane rolled his eyes at that. "I'm not that cold to leave you on your own."

He threw his head back and laughed out loud. "Thanks, Shane," he said with a smile. "You're a really good friend. You're the best."

He wished.

-;-

He tried to be patient with him.

That was the only acceptable way to treat him now, but this was all too much. He was dying. Seth was dying and all he could do was sit back and watch. He watched as his lips turn paler and his skin become mottled with bruises. He watched his cuts bleed profusely. He watched him wither away in front of his very eyes.

He never pretended to be selfless.

He wanted him to stay with him. Was that really so much to ask? A decade with Seth. It was really too little. He needed more.

"Don't you ever get that feeling?" Seth said softly, taking a step toward him and resting his hands against one of the kitchen chairs. "—that feeling that life is a little too good to be true?"

His knuckles whitened as his grip on the table increased.

His eyes met his, honest as always. "I didn't realize until the year we graduated, but I always knew you were too good to be true. What was that saying again? If it's too good to be true, then it probably is?"

"Stop it."

"All of my best memories are with you, Shane," he continued sincerely, his voice wobbly with tears. He ducked his head down. "The one time you let me take you to a picnic on the beach or when we went on that trip to Australia with your family. Even that first time—when I fell down hard chasing after you and you bandaged all of my cuts—"

"Stop," he said firmly.

"—I know we're…we're really good together, you and me. "

In a flash, he had him in his arms. "Stop," he said quietly. He could feel his throat closing up as pained, wracking sobs were muffled against his shirt. "You're such a…" he exhaled shakily and pulled his close, wanting more than anything to crawl into his body so that they would never have to part. "Stupid boy."

-;-

It was a testament to how much he loved him, Shane thought, as he sat by his hospital bed and watched him die.

Chemotherapy did nothing more than buy him a couple more weeks, and those weeks would fly by faster than the two years did. His arms grew thinner, his cheeks were bonier and the colour from his body was almost nonexistent. He looked a shade of the boy he fell in love with, but it seemed he would be Seth until the very end.

They all knew he was going to die and so did he.

He did whatever it took to make everything as normal as possible, but he didn't fool him.

When everybody left and he stayed back, he said softly, "You know I love you, don't you, Shane?"

He grunted.

It had sounded like a secret, but he had known for a long time.

"You love me," he said confidently, grinning a soft grin as he turned to look at him sitting by his bedside. "Can you make me a promise?"

Shane sent him a dark look. "If you're going to ask me to promise you to find some other girl or some other ridiculous shit like that, I'm going to rip someone's kneecaps out."

He laughed at that and beamed up at him. He was so pale. "no, not some other girl. I know how mad you would get if I said something like that. You'd probably cry too."

He gave him a warning look that he pretended to ignore.

"No, I have a different promise for you. Promise me you'll be happy," he said softly, smiling hopefully. "You have your whole life ahead of you. You've just become an amazing doctor and you're too handsome for your own good. Everybody who meets you falls in love with you. You don't know how many girls I've had to smack away with a broom."

"You said you wouldn't do this," Shane accused, feeling the pressure against his eyes at his words.

"I didn't say to promise me to find yourself a girl," Seth said with a grin.

He was making it hard for him to swallow.

"I just want you to be happy. Don't cry for me or grieve for me. We've had a good run, Shane. Ten years. I've been told anybody that can deal with my personality should get an award for patience." He laughed lightly at this and pressed his nearly white lips against his hand. "You're the best thing that's ever happened to me, you know. The best friend I could have ever asked for. But don't let me hold you back—"

He moved to protest but he shook his head. "Don't let me hold you back, you hear? Not from anything. Don't let me hold you back from becoming the best doctor you can be. Don't let me prevent you from befriending anybody else. Don't let me ruin you for any other girl. Erika told me I was the first person you've ever loved outside your family and Shane, trust me, I won't be the last. I'm proud to be the first, but I'd like to think I warmed up your heart to make it easier for the next person—the one that will sweep you off your feet and never give you a moment's rest…the one that will never let you down."

"You never let me down."

"I'm dying on you, aren't I?" His voice trembled with regret. "I held out for as long as I could but Shane, you're ready. You have to let me go."

The statement alarmed him and he sat up straighter in his seat to look at him closely.

He shook his head. "I can feel it. It won't happen today but it's coming and I didn't want to surprise you. I want to say everything so that I don't ever regret it."

His comments were all over the place, but he didn't care.

He was drifting right before his eyes and he could do nothing about it.

"Promise, Shane?" he said softly, “Don't think I didn't notice you not promising."

"I can't promise that. I'll promise to try to be happy. Let's leave it at that."

Seth pouted at him, and he leaned over to kiss him softly on the lips. "I'll love you forever…you know," Shane said honestly, feeling a slight heat at the back of his neck and tears press against the back of his eyes. Shane didn't even have to force out his next words: "Best friends."

He smiled like a ghost. "Always you and me," he said softly. "Us against the world."